SPORTS PEOPLE: PRO BASKETBALL

SPORTS PEOPLE: PRO BASKETBALL; D.A. Meets on Barkley

Published: December 25, 1991

An assistant district attorney in Milwaukee County met yesterday with a man whom the Philadelphia 76ers star CHARLES BARKLEY is accused of assaulting in an early-morning fight on Sunday.

"It's a serious matter, at the least the injuries were serious," said the prosecutor, MICHAEL STEINHAFEL, who met with 25-year-old JAMES R. McCARTHY, who suffered a broken nose in the fight.

Steinhafel declined to identity the other witnesses who appeared at a conference he conducted. The prosecutor said additional witnesses, including Barkley, would be interviewed on Jan. 7 or 8 when the 76ers return to Milwaukee. A decision on charges will be made at that time. Barkley was represented by an attorney at the conference yesterday.